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Italy's Paolo Sorrentino, US star Dafoe honoured at Sarajevo Film Fest
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on August 15, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on August 15, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Paolo Sorrentino and Willem Dafoe are honored at the Sarajevo Film Festival, which features over 250 films and highlights challenges in Bosnia's film industry.
By Daria Sito-Sucic
SARAJEVO (Reuters) -Oscar-winning Italian director Paolo Sorrentino will be honoured at the 31st Sarajevo Film Festival, which kicks off on Friday, alongside star actors Willem Dafoe, Ray Winstone and Stellan Skarsgard.
Sorrentino - known for "Il Divo", "The Hand of God" and "The Great Beauty", which was recognised as best foreign language film at the 2014 Academy Awards - will get the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo at the event which will show a retrospective of his films.
"Paolo Sorrentino managed to do what every filmmaker dreams of – he left a global impact through local, personal stories, festival director Jovan Marjanovic said in a statement.
U.S. actor Dafoe - who turned 70 last month and has starred in everything from "Poor Things" to "Spider-Man" - will also get an Honorary Heart, as will Britain's Winstone and Sweden's Skarsgard.
More than 250 films will be shown at the festival, which was founded by a group of movie enthusiasts towards the end of Bosnia's 1992-95 war.
Black comedy "Pavilion" by Bosnian film and theatre director Dino Mustafic will open the programme. It is the only Bosnian film made this year, reflecting the parlous state of the Balkan country's industry and a lack of government support, the association of Bosnia's film directors said this week.
Ukrainian film director Sergei Loznitsa will chair the festival jury. Nine co-productions from southern, central and eastern Europe will compete for the best feature film award, selector Elma Tataragic said.
The festival will show a selection of Arab cinematography in cooperation with the Doha Film Institute, including one showing footage of life in Gaza in the early 2000s.
(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
Paolo Sorrentino and Willem Dafoe are among the honorees at the 31st Sarajevo Film Festival, receiving the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo.
Paolo Sorrentino is known for films such as 'Il Divo', 'The Hand of God', and 'The Great Beauty', the latter winning the best foreign language film at the 2014 Academy Awards.
The Sarajevo Film Festival was founded by movie enthusiasts during the Bosnian war and has grown to showcase over 250 films, highlighting both local and international cinema.
This year's festival will feature a variety of films, including the black comedy 'Pavilion' and a selection of Arab cinematography in collaboration with the Doha Film Institute.
Ukrainian film director Sergei Loznitsa will chair the festival jury, overseeing the competition for the best feature film award.
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